1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a device for covering a personal watercraft, whichxe2x80x94when invertedxe2x80x94floats and can be towed by the personal watercraft.
2. Description of the Related Art
Two patents which claim covers for boats are U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,047 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,414.
However, only the cover of U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,047 can be detached and inverted for use as a floating transportation unit. The cover of U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,414 rotates away from the boat but remains permanently attached to a support structure, which is only disclosed to be a trailer.
The cover of U.S. Pat. No. 3,734,047, though, covers only a relatively small portion of the boat and usually remains attached to the boat while the boat is being sailed.
Conversely, U.S. Pat. No. 5,119,752 covers a floating transportation unit that can be pulled by a personal watercraft; but, although there is a permanently attached, hinged cover for the floating transportation unit, the invention includes no cover for the personal watercraft. And U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,891 applies to a floating transportation unit that can be towed by a personal watercraft but has no coverxe2x80x94either for the personal watercraft or for the floating transportation unit.
And U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,884 includes a cover which covers only the cockpit of the watercraft and which can be raised above the cockpit or removed from the watercraft entirely and used to support a tent. There is, however, no indication that the cover floats.
Four patentsxe2x80x94U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,366,769; 4,718,587; 4,790,256; and 4,841,900xe2x80x94apply to containers which can be converted into boats. The boats thereby created have, however, hulls composed of several different pieces that contact the water. Moreover, the containers are not intended to protect watercraft. It would, in fact, be necessary to lift a watercraft into such containers even if the containers were large enough to hold the watercraft.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,474,131 and 5,383,702 concern canopies for vehicles, such as those which are utilized to cover the bed of a pick-up truck in order to create a xe2x80x9ccamper.xe2x80x9d Again, though, the boats created from these canopies have hulls composed of several different pieces that contact the water. Furthermore, such canopies are not disclosed as being for use on watercraft; and the latter of the two patents even expressly declares that the canopy is for a pick-up truck.
Finally, although the hull of the boat created from the box of U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,010 is unitary, such boat is composed of two primary parts. And, as was the case with respect to the containers discussed previously, the box could protect a watercraft only if the watercraft were lifted into the box.
The present invention is a cover which substantially covers the upper portion of a personal watercraft and which can be inverted to create a floating transportation unit having a unitary hull.